Monday, April 17, 2017

Before deciding to play in Game 1 one day after losing his younger sister in a car crash, TNT aired footage of Isaiah Thomas crying on the sideline next to teammate Avery Bradley.

On TNT's "Inside the NBA," analyst Charles Barkley expressed his opinion moments before tip-off -- stating that the best decision for Thomas would be to sit out of Game 1 due to how emotional he looked before the start of the game.

"I'm not feeling comfortable with him sitting on the sideline crying like that," Charles Barkley said. "That makes me uncomfortable, because that tells me he's not in shape to play. I don't know how this night is going to turn out, but to be sitting on the sideline a few minutes before the game, crying, that makes me uncomfortable for him. That's just not a good look, in my personal opinion."

Barkley, who has a track record of making controversial statements, received plenty of backlash on Twitter for his comments. Meanwhile, Thomas' game-high 33 points carried the Celtics throughout the night before falling short in a 106-102 loss against the Bulls.